John S. Worden
He has handled numerous Financial Industry Regulator Authority (FINRA) arbitrations, ranging from banking disputes and customer suits against broker-dealers to venture capital and private equity disputes. He has also successfully represented policyholders and carriers in insurance disputes involving general liability, construction, directors and officers (D&O), and environmental coverage.
For more than 30 years, John has tried complex construction disputes, representing subcontractors, prime contractors, and owners in commercial projects across California and Nevada, including multiple Las Vegas casinos, and large residential and condominium developments throughout the West. John has also defended and prosecuted plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of personal injury cases, including those related to asbestos, automobile and trucking incidents, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and premises liability.
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. magna cum laude Seattle University School of Law 1989
- Editor, Seattle University Law Review
- B.A. with honors Seattle University 1986
- Honors Program
Bar Admissions
- California
- Nevada
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL)
- Fellow, San Francisco Chapter, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- Member, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
- Bar Association of San Francisco
- Director, Board of Directors
- Director, Justice & Diversity Center
- Director, Barristers Club
- Chair, ADR/Arbitration Section
- Past chair, Antitrust and Securities Litigation Section
- Adjunct professor, Evidence and Litigation Practice, University of California – San Francisco, College of the Law
- Settlement referee, San Francisco Superior Court
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Lawyer of the Year, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2025
- Commercial Litigation, 2023 – 2025
- Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2023 – 2025
- Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, 2025
- Super Lawyers, Northern California, 2003 – 2025
- The Bar Association of San Francisco
- Lawyer of the Year, 2015
- Barrister of the Year, 1997
- Outstanding Volunteer, Justice & Diversity Center, 2016 - 2018
Community
Volunteerism
- John is a living kidney donor and certified kidney donor advocate
- Member, Lafayette Police Commission, Lafayette, California
Personal Activities
- In his spare time, John is an athlete. He is a black belt kung fu instructor (having received multiple golds at the National Kung Fu Championships in Baltimore and a silver medal at the 2003 World Kung Fu Championships in São Paulo, Brazil), and he competes in two other sports